High School Rankings

**Bellevue University is the sponsor of the high school rankings, but does not contribute to them or influence them in any fashion. The high school rankings and opinions shared on this page are those of Nebraska Prep Volleyball only.**

Rankings as of Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Omaha Marian (33-11) 3

Millard West (36-3) 1

Papillion-LaVista (28-11) 4

Millard North (29-12) 2

Lincoln Southwest (25-9) 5

Lincoln Southeast (31-10) 6

Lincoln North Star (22-11) 7

North Platte (21-11) 8

Papillion-LaVista South (22-18) 9

Millard South (24-15) 10

Notes: Marian finishes the year where it started in the preseason Nebraska Prep Volleyball Rankings – at the top. Despite finishing 4th at the state tournament, Lincoln Southeast stays at #6 because Lincoln Southwest proved to be the top team from Lincoln. The Silver Hawks not only won the Heartland Athletic Conference, but didn’t drop a match to any of its cross-town rivals in Class A this year. Grand Island, despite making the state tournament, finished the year 3-6 in its final nine matches and hadn’t beaten a team in the Class A state tournament field in nearly two months and therefore is unranked.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Norris (30-8) 5

Grand Island Northwest (38-1) 1

Elkhorn South (22-14) 8

Lincoln Pius X (34-7) 2

Waverly (31-5) 3

Omaha Skutt (32-9) 4

Beatrice (22-12) 6

Aurora (27-9) 7

Gretna (23-11) 9

Hastings (23-10) 10

Notes: Norris caps its tremendous run through the state tournament with the #1 ranking. Northwest finishes the year ranked second with its only loss coming to Norris in the state semifinals. Elkhorn South’s postseason upsets of Gretna, Lincoln Pius X and Omaha Skutt on its march to the state championship match shoots the Storm up to third in the rankings.

Class C-1

Team W-L Last Week

Kearney Catholic (27-8) 3

Ogallala (33-7) 2

Minden (27-5) 4

Columbus Scotus (26-5) 1

Wahoo (28-4) 5

Columbus Lakeview (23-9) 6

Gothenburg (27-5) 7

Lincoln Christian (24-6) 8

Syracuse (27-5) 9

Wayne (25-7) 10

Notes: Kearney Catholic followed the same path as Norris in Class B to the Class C-1 championship by winning the state tournament as a #6 seed. Ogallala remains ahead of Minden based on its regular-season matches even though the Whippets finished 2nd at state.

Class C-2

Team W-L Last Week

Hastings St. Cecilia (28-8) 1

Freeman (27-5) 2

Guardian Angels CC (31-5) 3

Palmyra (26-7) 8

Humphrey-Lindsay HF (30-3) 2

Crofton (23-5) 4

Lutheran High Northeast (23-10) 6

Ord (20-12) 7

Blue Hill (25-5) 9

Superior (24-4) 10

Notes: Hastings St. Cecillia goes wire-to-wire in winning the Class C-2 championship. Freeman returns everyone next year after finishing 2nd at state this year. Palmyra ‘s upset of Crofton in the first round of the state tournament causes some movement in the final rankings.

Class D-1

Team W-L Last Week

St. Mary’s (33-1) 1

BDS (30-4) 2

Friend (27-6) 3

Howells-Dodge (24-10) 5

CWC (23-7) 4

Brady (23-7) 6

Ansley-Litchfield (27-3) 7

Southwest (24-8) 8

Twin Loup (25-7) 9

Axtell (22-10) 10

Notes: St. Mary’s proved to be a step ahead of the field all season long in Class D-1 and finishes off the season with a state championship. Only minor change in the rankings is Howells-Dodge and CWC switching places after Howells-Dodge won its first-round match at state and CWC fell to Friend in the first round.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Giltner (31-2) 2

Sterling (27-7) 3

Stuart (26-7) 7

Bertrand (32-2) 1

Falls City Sacred Heart (26-6) 4

Mead (26-6) 5

Leyton (30-3) 6

Ewing (22-5) 8

Hampton (18-12) 9

Wallace (16-8) 10

Notes: Giltner unseats Bertrand as the top team in the D-2 rankings after the Hornets captured the D-2 state title. Bertrand, after winning its first 32 matches of the season, lost its final two and finishes 4th in the rankings. Stuart’s run to the championship match shoots it up the rankings from 7th to 3rd.

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Nebraska Elite Volleyball High School Rankings as of Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (34-2) 1

Millard North (29-11) 2

Omaha Marian (30-11) 3

Papillion-LaVista (26-10) 4

Lincoln Southwest (25-8) 5

Lincoln Southeast (30-8) 6

Lincoln North Star (22-10) 7

North Platte (21-11) 8

Papillion-LaVista South (22-18) 9

Millard South (24-15) 10

In contention: Grand Island.

Notes: Rankings remain exactly the same this week as the top seven teams all won their district tournament. Despite claiming the Class A wildcard, Grant Island remains unranked at 22-13. The Islanders have somewhat limped to the finish line, losing five of their last eight matches, including two to North Platte, which they barely edged out for the wildcard.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (36-0) 1

Lincoln Pius X (34-6) 2

Waverly (31-4) 3

Omaha Skutt (31-7) 4

Norris (27-8) 7

Beatrice (22-11) 6

Aurora (27-8) 8

Elkhorn South (20-13) 9

Gretna (23-11) 5

Hastings (23-10) –

Notes: The only substate upset from a seeding standpoint was Elkhorn South knocking off Gretna is five sets, which drops the Dragons to #9. Norris jumps to #5 after its impressive win over Lincoln Pius X in the district finals. Elkhorn drops from the rankings after going 2-8 in its final 10 matches.

Class C-1

Team W-L Last Week

Columbus Scotus (25-3) 1

Ogallala (31-6) 2

Kearney Catholic (24-8) –

Minden (25-4) 3

Wahoo (28-3) 7

Columbus Lakeview (23-9) 6

Gothenburg (27-5) 4

Lincoln Christian (24-6) 5

Syracuse (27-4) –

Wayne (25-6) –

In contention: Chadron.

Notes: District tournament results created some havoc in the C-1 rankings. Defending state champion Kearney Catholic surges from unranked to #3 and has saved its best volleyball for the end of the season. Following losses to St. Paul and Wood River in the LouPlatte Conference tournament, Kearney Catholic stood at 14-10. Since then, the Stars have rattled off 10 straight victories and emerged from what was likely the toughest district with wins over Centura (17-12), Minden (25-4) and St. Paul (27-5) without dropping a single set. Despite getting a wildcard, Chadron drops out of the rankings following its loss to Ogallala in the district final. Chadron does not own a win over a single team that has reached state in any class this year. Omaha Concordia and Grand Island Central Catholic also drop out of the rankings, making way for district champions Syracuse and Wayne.

Class C-2

Team W-L Last Week

Hastings St. Cecilia (25-8) 1

Humphrey-Lindsay HF (30-2) 2

Guardian Angels CC (29-4) 4

Crofton (23-4) 5

Freeman (25-5) 3

Lutheran High Northeast (23-9) 7

Ord (20-11) 9

Palmyra (25-5) 10

Blue Hill (25-5) 6

Superior (24-4) 8

Notes: Freeman’s loss to Palmyra causes it to fall to #5. Blue Hill and Superior each lost in postseason play but stay in the rankings as all the teams ranked #1-8 are in the state tournament.

Class D-1

Team W-L Last Week

St. Mary’s (30-1) 1

BDS (28-3) 2

Friend (25-5) 5

CWC (23-6) 6

Howells-Dodge (23-8) 8

Brady (23-6) 9

Ansley-Litchfield (27-3) 3

Southwest (24-8) 4

Twin Loup (25-7) –

Axtell (22-9) –

In contention: Cross County.

Notes: Postseason losses cost both Overton and North Platte St. Patrick’s their spots in the rankings while state tournament qualifiers Twin Loup and Axtell enter the rankings. Even though they didn’t qualify for state, Ansley-Litchfield and Southwest maintain their rankings while state qualifier Cross County (17-16) is in contender status.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (31-0) 1

Giltner (28-2) 2

Sterling (25-7) 4

Falls City SH (26-5) 5

Mead (26-5_ 6

Leyton (30-2) 8

Stuart (24-6) 10

Ewing (22-5) 3

Hampton (18-12) –

Wallace (16-7) –

Notes: Bertrand strengthened its grasp on #1 following its 3-0 win over Giltner in the district finals. Hyannis and Exeter-Milligan each suffered postseason losses to drop out while Hampton and Wallace enter the rankings. Ewing, which had been highly ranked all season, slips to #8 and misses the state tournament after being upset by Stuart.

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Nebraska Elite Volleyball Rankings as of Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Notes: Papillion-LaVista slides down to #4 after its loss to Omaha Burke in the Metro Conference tournament. Lincoln North Star dropped all three of its matches last week (Lincoln Southeast, Lincoln Northeast & Millard West) but only drops one spot. Papillion-LaVista South is back in the rankings after winning seven of its last 10 and making the Metro Conference semifinals. Grand Island drops out after losing to North Platte last week and the Islanders have gone 3-4 in their last seven matches.

Notes: Only movement in the rankings this week comes with Beatrice jumping from 9th to 6th following its sweep of Norris and a runner-up finish to Skutt in the River Cities Conference tournament last week. Elkhorn is just 2-6 in its last eight matches but stays ranked due to its strength of schedule and wins over Elkhorn South and Beatrice earlier this year.

Notes: Everything stays the same in Class C-1 this week despite some losses that could have shaken up the rankings. Scotus lost to Class B #4 Skutt but remains at the top spot heading into postseason play. Concordia stays at #9 despite its loss to Class C-2 #7 Lutheran High Northeast, one of the hottest teams in the state right now.

Notes: Hastings St. Cecilia is still the class of C-2 and holds onto the #1 spot despite its loss to Class C-1 contender St. Paul.Superior falls from #4 to #8 following its loss to Milford. Hartington Cedar Catholic (Guardian Angels CC, Wayne) and Wakefield (Randolph) each drop out after losses. Ord and Palmyra enter the rankings.

Notes: Friend drops two spots in the rankings after its loss to Falls City Sacred Heart and North Platte St. Patrick’s drops three spots following its loss to Paxton. Emerson-Hubbard leaves the rankings after losing to Randolph and Laurel-Concord last week and Brady enters the rankings at #9.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (28-0) 1

Giltner (26-1) 2

Ewing (21-4) 4

Sterling (22-7) 3

Falls City Sacred Heart (25-4) 5

Mead (23-5) 6

Exeter-Milligan (20-8) 8

Leyton (27-2) 9

Hyannis (23-4) 10

Stuart (21-6) 7

In contention: Paxton, Wauneta-Palisade, Wynot.

Notes: Sterling’s losses last week to Friend and Johnson-Brock cause it to switch places with Ewing, which also lost to Class D-1 #1 St. Mary’s last week. Stuart drops from #7 to #10 following losses to a pair of ranked D-1 teams in St. Mary’s and #5 CWC.

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Nebraska Elite Volleyball High School Rankings as of Monday, Oct. 28, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Notes: Papillion-LaVista slides up to #2 after winning its only match of the week against Omaha North. Millard North slides down a spot after being upset by unranked Bellevue West and Marian drops one spot after losing five-set matches to Millard North and Millard West. Despite winning the Heartland Athletic Conference title, Lincoln Southwest stays at #5. The Silver Hawks are a combined 1-7 against the top four ranked teams with that one win coming against Marian and the Crusaders have defeated Southwest two other times. North Platte jumps back into the standings based on its win over Grand Island. Lincoln East drops out after losses to Grand Island and Lincoln Northeast.

Notes: All was calm last week and there are no changes as a result. That could all change this week, however, with Lincoln Pius X traveling to Grand Island Northwest on Tuesday and the Thunderbolts then taking on Waverly and Gretna in a triangular on Thursday. The fact that Norris just got 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter Maddy Bruder back for the first time this season is a game-changer in Class B as well. Bruder is a potential Division I recruit who had shoulder surgery prior to the season.

Notes: Columbus Scotus gets to keep its top ranking despite falling to Class C-2 #1 Hastings St. Cecilia last week. It may be difficult for the Shamrocks to keep that ranking heading into postseason play, however, as they travel to Class B #4 Omaha Skutt Tuesday. Ogallala, Minden and Gothenburg are all three legitimate title contenders with exceptional height, athleticism and defense. Yet, no team in C-1 may be playing better than Columbus Lakeview, which goes up to #6 after beating Omaha Concordia and Bishop Neumann last week. Lincoln Christian moves up to #5 after winning its own invite. At 24-2, Chadron makes its debut in the rankings. Concordia falls to #9 after losing to Lakeview and Neumann. Grand Island CC drops to #10 after its loss to Aurora. From a top-20 teams standpoint, Class C-1 is the deepest and most talented class in the state.

Notes: Only slight changes this week with Freeman falling one spot following its loss to Mead in the championship of the Elmwood-Murdock Booster Invitational. Hartington Cedar Catholic falls from #7 to #9 following its loss to Class C-1 contender Wayne.

Notes: BDS stays at #2 despite its loss to Class D-2 #2 Giltner and Southwest stays at #5 despite its loss to Class D-2 #1 Bertrand. Brady lost twice to Sandhills-Thedford to drop from the rankings and Twin Loup also falls out after losing to SEM. Overton and Emerson-Hubbard take their places in the rankings.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (27-0) 1

Giltner (24-1) 2

Sterling (21-5) 4

Ewing (19-3) 3

Falls City Sacred Heart (22-4) 5

Mead (22-5) 6

Stuart (20-4) 9

Exeter-Milligan (19-8) 8

Leyton (24-2) 10

Hyannis (21-4) 7

In contention: Paxton, Wauneta-Palisade, Wynot.

Notes: Ewing drops to #4 after a loss to Class D-1 #6 CWC and Sterling moves up a place after an impressive win over Falls City Sacred Heart. Losses by Hyannis (Sandhills-Thedford & Mullen) and Exeter-Milligan (BDS) allows Stuart to move up from #9 to #7.

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Elite Volleyball High School Rankings as of Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (22-2) 1

Millard North (22-9) 6

Omaha Marian (23-8) 2

Papillion-LaVista (21-9) 3

Lincoln Southwest (19-8) 7

Lincoln Southeast (24-7) 5

Grand Island (18-8) 4

Lincoln North Star (18-6) 8

Millard South (20-12) 10

Lincoln East (14-11) –

In contention: North Platte, Papillion-LaVista South.

Notes: As usual, the heart of the Class A rankings are adjusted this week. With its championship at the Omaha Westside Invite, Millard North rises to #2. Omaha Marian, which lost to Lincoln Southwest in the championship semifinals, drops just one spot to #3 and scored a victory over Millard North during pool play in the tournament. Expect more shuffling next week based on the outcome of the Heartland Athletic Conference tournament this week featuring five teams in the top 10. Omaha Marian could really shake this up at the top of the rankings this week as the Crusaders host #1 Millard West on Tuesday then travel to #2 Millard North on Thursday. Lincoln East, which swept Lincoln North Star and upset Class B power Lincoln Pius X in the last two weeks, enters the rankings at #10. North Platte falls from the rankings, but can work its way back in depending how it does at Class C-1 power Ogallala Tuesday night.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (31-0) 1

Lincoln Pius X (27-4) 2

Waverly (24-3) 3

Omaha Skutt (23-7) 4

Gretna (20-7) 7

Norris (17-7) 5

Aurora (19-6) 6

Elkhorn South (17-10) 8

Beatrice (16-7) 10

Elkhorn (14-13) 9

In contention: Omaha Duchesne, Omaha Gross, Holdrege.

Notes: Northwest, ranked #47 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, survived a 25-8, 22-25, 26-24 match against Class C-1 Columbus Lakeview on Saturday. Pius X lost in five sets to Class A Lincoln East, but stays at #2 based on having defeated Waverly earlier in the year. Skutt remains #4 despite its loss to Class A Millard North. Gretna’s win over Norris jumps the Dragons up in the standings. Aurora only slides down one spot after its loss to Columbus Lakeview – thanks in large part to the fact that both Elkhorn South (Waverly) and Elkhorn (1-3 at Westside Invite) also suffered losses. Beatrice is 15-1 in its last 16 matches but will be tested big time this week with matches against Wahoo and Lincoln Pius X.

Notes: Lincoln Christian’s sweep of Omaha Concordia and Syracuse defeating Wahoo shake up the standings this week in what is shaping up to be the wildest class of them all. Columbus Lakeview jumps in to the rankings at #9 after nearly upsetting Class B #1 Northwest. The Vikings are an absolute wild card in C-1, having pushed Northwest and Scotus to the brink and scoring a pair of victories over Aurora but has also dropped matches to contender Wayne and an unranked and 8-15 Central City. The Vikings host Omaha Concordia Tuesday night. Kearney Catholic falls out of the rankings following losses to St. Paul and Wood River.

Notes: The only change in the rankings comes with Shelby-Rising City falling out after being upset by Meridian and Wakefield is back into the rankings at #10. Guardian Angels Central Catholic made a huge statement on behalf of all schools its size by cruising to the Omaha South Invitational title without dropping a set in five matches last weekend, including wins over Omaha North (14-9) and Omaha Central (14-17) in the championship bracket.

Notes: Only changes in the rankings come in the bottom half after North Platte St. Patrick’s dropped three matches to Class C-1 schools last week and Howells-Dodge suffered setbacks against Wisner-Pilger and Stanton.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (21-0) 1

Giltner (21-1) 3

Ewing (18-2) 2

Sterling (18-5) 5

Falls City Sacred Heart (20-3) 6

Mead (18-4) 4

Hyannis (20-2) 7

Exeter-Milligan (17-7) 9

Stuart (19-4) 10

Leyton (23-2) 8

In contention: Wauneta-Palisade, Wynot, Paxton, Osceola.

Notes: Slight moderations to the rankings this week after none at all last week. Ewing slips down to #3 following its loss to Class D-1 #1 St. Mary’s. Mead drops to #6 due to its loss to Palmyra and Leyton drops to #10 after a loss to Pine Bluff, WY.

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Elite Volleyball High School Rankings as of Monday, Oct. 14, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (20-2) 1

Omaha Marian (19-6) 3

Papillion-LaVista (18-6) 4

Grand Island (17-7) 6

Lincoln Southeast (23-6) 7

Millard North (16-8) 9

Lincoln Southwest (15-6) 2

Lincoln North Star (17-6) 5

North Platte (12-9) 10

Millard South (19-12) –

In contention: Papillion-LaVista South, Lincoln East.

Notes: Millard North and Lincoln East caused chaos in the middle of the rankings this week. The Mustangs, having lost four of their previous six matches, knocked off both Millard West and Lincoln Southwest last week. Lincoln East swept Lincoln North Star. The Spartans could have cracked the top 10, except that they then lost both matches in their own triangular two days later against Omaha Burke and Papillion-LaVista South. Papio South is 3-10 in its last 13 matches and drops out of the rankings. Millard South, which has won seven straight, enters the rankings at #10.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (24-0) 1

Lincoln Pius X (25-3) 2

Waverly (23-3) 3

Omaha Skutt (23-6) 4

Norris (17-6) 5

Aurora (15-5) 6

Gretna (19-7) 7

Elkhorn South (16-9) 9

Elkhorn (12-10) 8

Beatrice (15-7) 10

In contention: Omaha Duchesne, Omaha Gross, Holdrege, Ralston.

Notes: The only change in the rankings is Elkhorn and Elkhorn South flip-flopping spots after the Storm took a 20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 28-26 win over the Antlers in the Eastern Midlands Conference quarterfinals. It should be noted, however, that Elkhorn had won two previous meetings between the teams. The two will likely play again in the first round of the B-2 district tournament and it isn’t far-fetched to think they could also square off in a sub-state match.

Notes: Minden, Ogallala and Gothenburg took turns beating up on each other last week to cause a reshuffle. Ogallala went on the road and snapped Minden’s 11-match winning streak, but that was after Gothenburg knocked off Ogallala in three sets. Beneficiaries include Omaha Concordia, which moved up to #3 after a third-place finish in the Centennial Conference Tournament. Grand Island Central Catholic, which finished fourth at that tournament with losses to Scotus and Concordia, stays at #5 but sees Wahoo cut in front. Wisner-Pilger drops out of the top 10 in part due to a loss against new #10 St. Paul.

Notes: Minor changes in the top half and big changes on the bottom half. Guardian Angels drops one spot after its three-set loss to Lutheran High Northeast. Wakefield drops from the top 10 allowing Crofton to rise while Hartington Cedar Catholic, on an 11-match winning streak, shoots in to the standings at #8 and Lutheran High NE reappears at #10 on the strength of its three wins over Wakefield, Wisner-Pilger and Guardian Angels.

Notes: North Platte St. Patrick’s slips down the standings after dropping three matches last week, including losses to Southwest and Brady. Howells-Dodge also slips after losses to Class C-2 Stanton and Humphrey-Lindsay Holy Family.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (20-0) 1

Ewing (16-1) 2

Giltner (18-1) 3

Mead (16-3) 4

Sterling (18-4) 5

Falls City Sacred Heart (17-3) 6

Hyannis (18-2) 7

Leyton (20-1) 8

Exeter-Milligan (16-7) 9

Stuart (15-4) 10

In contention: Wauneta-Palisade, Paxton, Osceola, Wynot.

Notes: Standings stay exactly the same as last week despite a pair of teams losing matches. Mead stays at #4 despite its loss to Class C-2 #2 Freeman and Sterling stays at #5 with its loss last week coming to Class B #10 Beatrice.

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Rankings as of Monday, Oct. 7, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (19-1) 1

Lincoln Southwest (13-4) 3

Omaha Marian (19-6) 2

Papillion-LaVista (16-6) 4

Lincoln North Star (16-5) 5

Grand Island (15-7) 7

Lincoln Southeast (19-6) 9

Papillion-LaVista South (14-11) 6

Millard North (14-8) 8

North Platte (11-8) 10

In contention: Lincoln East, Millard South, Bellevue West.

Notes: Omaha Marian slides one spot from #2 to #3 after losses to Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln Pius X over the weekend. The Crusaders lost sophomore outside Sophia Terwilleger to mono, which has caused Marian to go to a 6-2 offense to get athletic setter Sydney O’Shaughnessy some attack opportunities. Marian also moved libero Brittany Witt to a hitting position and placed sophomore defensive specialist at libero. It remains to be seen if Terwilleger will be able to make it back yet this season. She also missed the first few weeks of the season after having back surgery. After a strong showing at the Allison Weston Invitational – including handing Millard West its only loss – Papillion-LaVista South had a reversal of fortune last week going 2-5 at the Lincoln Northeast Invite and also dropping individual matches to Millard West and Lincoln Northeast. That dropped the Titans from #6 to #9. Lincoln Southeast moves up from #9 to #7 after going a perfect 7-0 at the Northeast Invite with wins over Pius X and Marian. Southeast and Marian have played four times this year, each winning two.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (23-0) 1

Lincoln Pius X (25-3) 2

Waverly (20-3) 4

Omaha Skutt (19-6) 3

Norris (15-5) 5

Aurora (13-5) 6

Gretna (18-6) 9

Elkhorn (12-9) 7

Elkhorn South (15-8) 8

Beatrice (12-6) 10

In contention: Hastings, Omaha Duchesne, Holdrege, Ralston.

Notes: Results from the Skyhawk Invitational created the only movement within the top 10. Waverly, which won the tournament, moves up a spot to #3 while Omaha Skutt, which finished third, drops a spot. Gretna, the runner-up, jumps from #9 to #7 thanks to its win over Omaha Skutt in the semifinals. The standings could see more movement next week with the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament taking place this week. Elkhorn South plays at Elkhorn tonight in a quarterfinal match with the winner likely getting Waverly in the semifinals. A potential Gretna-Norris match in the other semifinal gives the Dragons an opportunity to continue their climb up the standings.

Notes: Wahoo’s loss to DC West and Kearney Catholic falling in five sets to Grand Island CC create movement in the middle of the standings. Class C-1 is likely the most wide-open class in the entire state, aside from Scotus having a firm grip on the #1 rankings. After the Shamrocks, there are a legitimate 20 teams that could make a deep run in the postseason. Syracuse drops out of the top 10 following its loss last week to Class C-2 Palmyra and Wisner-Pilger enters the rankings.

Notes: Freeman, Humphrey-Lindsay HF, Guardian Angels and Superior all suffered losses last week, preventing any of them from climbing but neither falls as well. Blue Hill’s loss to Class D-1 #3 BDS costs it three spots in the standings and Elmwood-Murdock drops out of the rankings after going 0-4 last week. Palmyra, which got wins over Elmwood-Murdock and Class C-1 Syracuse last week, enters the ratings.

Notes: North Platte St. Patrick’s reclaims the top spot this week after St. Mary’s suffered its first loss of the season to Class D-2 #10 Stuart and BDS dropped a three-set match to Class D-2 #3 Giltner. Howells-Dodge and Ansley-Litchfield switch places after Howells-Dodge’s loss to Wisner-Pilger. Overton drops out of the rankings after a 0-2 week and CWC enters at #10.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Bertrand (17-0) 3

Ewing (15-1) 1

Giltner (14-1) 2

Mead (15-2) 4

Sterling (13-3) 5

Falls City SH (16-3) 6

Hyannis (16-2) 7

Leyton (19-1) 8

Exeter-Milligan (14-7) 10

Stuart (11-4) –

In contention: Wauneta-Palisade, Paxton, Hay Springs, Osceola.

Notes: Only Bertrand and Class B #1 Grand Island Northwest have made it this far undefeated on the season. Bertrand takes over the top spot in D-2 as a result. Ewing makes room for Bertrand because it’s only loss on the season (to Class D-1 St. Mary’s) lost some if its luster when it got knocked from the unbeaten ranks last week. Giltner is forced to step aside for Bertrand as well after falling for the first time all season to Class C-2 #9 Blue Hill. Wauneta-Palisade’s loss to Dundy County-Stratton bumps it out of the rankings and Stuart, who handed St. Mary’s its first loss, enters the rankings.

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Rankings as of Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (16-1) 1

Omaha Marian (13-4) 4

Lincoln Southwest (11-4) 5

Papillion-LaVista (13-6) 6

Lincoln North Star (14-5) 2

Papillion-LaVista South (11-4) 9

Grand Island (15-6) 7

Millard North (14-7) 3

Lincoln Southeast (11-6) 8

North Platte (8-7) 10

In contention: Lincoln East, Millard South.

Notes: In the incredibly tight Class A, Millard West has proven to be the most consistent team and stays at #1 despite its loss to Papillion-LaVista South. Wildcats are also getting 6-foot-1 senior right side Kamesha Young back as well after missing two weeks with an injury. Grand Island’s five-set win over North Star and the Titans beating Millard West and Millard North cause the shuffle this week. There is minimal difference between the top nine teams in Class A, with each still having legitimate state championship hopes.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (16-0) 1

Lincoln Pius X (18-2) 3

Omaha Skutt (13-5) 4

Waverly (13-3) 5

Norris (12-2) 6

Aurora (13-4) 2

Elkhorn (11-9) 7

Elkhorn South (14-8) 8

Gretna (13-4) 9

Beatrice (9-6) –

In contention: Hastings, Ralston, Holdrege, Omaha Duchesne, Schuyler.

Notes: Northwest has handled every test that has come its way and has been impressive in the process having beaten all the other ranked teams in Class B except Pius, Norris and Gretna. Pius will get its shot at Northwest in Grand Island on Oct. 29. The interesting aspect of that match will be how close to the vest those teams play in anticipation of meeting just a couple weeks later at the state tournament. Aurora’s loss to Columbus Lakeview drops it down the ratings while Beatrice enters the rankings having won eight straight. Beatrice started the season 1-6, but those seven opponents the Lady Orange played have a current combined record of 88-30. Hastings drops out after straight-set losses to Skutt and Columbus Scotus.

Notes: Columbus Scotus stays at #1 and is not punished for its loss to Grand Island Northwest. Central Catholic’s second loss of the season to Minden and loss to Concordia send them down in the standings while Wahoo shoots up thanks to its win over Syracuse. Ogallala is undefeated against Class C-1-and-below competition and also owns a win over Class A #10 North Platte. Lincoln Christian drops from #6 to #9 despite a perfect week that included a win over Class C-2 Freeman. Lincoln Christian, however, has losses to Grand Island CC and Syracuse forcing it to drop with those teams. Lincoln Lutheran drops out after losses to Concordia and GICC and Gothenburg enters at #10.

Notes: Hastings St. Cecilia lost its fourth and fifth matches of the season over the weekend at the Holdrege Invitational to St. Paul and Minden. I looked hard for a reason to remove them from the top spot and simply couldn’t find it. Despite the five losses, St. Cecilia – to me – is still the best team in Class C-2. Its losses include Class B’s Aurora and Class C-1 teams Lincoln Christian (twice), St. Paul and Minden. Those teams have a combined record of 63-13. Freeman, meanwhile, has a loss to Class D-1 Friend and has also lost to Lincoln Christian. Humphrey-Lindsay HF can’t leap to #1 because its loss is to Freeman. Similarly, Guardian Angles has lost to Humphrey-LHF. Superior’s loss to Sandy Creek was its first of the season and it is not punished in the rankings for it considering it has defeated Blue Hill. Shelby-Rising City also suffered its first loss (to Class D-1 BDS) but still rises to #9 on the strength of its win over Yutan. Stanton drops out after its loss to Wisner-Pilger and Crofton is in at #10.

Class D-1

Team W-L Last Week

St. Mary’s (11-0) 3

BDS (12-1) 4

North Platte St. Patrick’s (10-3) 1

Friend (11-2) 5

Howells-Dodge (8-3) 2

Ansley-Litchfield (14-2) 7

Overton (13-2) 8

Twin Loup (11-3) 6

Southwest (11-5) 9

Brady (10-3) 10

In contention: Sandhills-Thedford, Axtell, Cedar Valley, CWC, Allen.

Notes: North Platte St. Patrick’s loss to Class C-1 contender Wood River costs it the #1 spot in the rankings and causes it to slip down a couple spots. Howells-Dodge also takes a small tumble after dropping a match to C-2 contender Lutheran High Northeast. St. Mary’s and BDS move up to full the top two spots. Twin Loup drops after losing to Ansley-Litchfield twice last week. All three of Twin Loup’s losses this season have come against Ansley-Litchfield.

Notes: The only change in the rankings is Mead dropping from #1 to #4 with Ewing, Giltner and Bertrand each moving up a spot. Giltner defeated Mead in straight sets in the semifinals of the Hampton tournament and the Lady Raiders then fell to the host team in three sets. Mead has little time to recover as it faces three of the top Class C-2 teams in the state (Yutan, Elmwood-Murdock and Freeman) in the next eight days. Ewing gets the #1 nod over Giltner despite having a loss because the loss was to undefeated St. Mary’s (#1 in Class D-1) and because of its quality wins over opponents in higher classes. Giltner could stake claim to the top spot next week, however, depending on how it fairs in a triangular this Thursday with Class C-2 #6 Blue Hill and Class D-1 #2 BDS.

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Rankings as of Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Class A

Team W-L Last Week

Millard West (11-0) 1

Lincoln North Star (13-4) 3

Millard North (11-4) 4

Omaha Marian (12-4) 8

Lincoln Southwest (10-4) 2

Papillion-LaVista (9-5) 5

Grand Island (10-6) 6

Lincoln Southeast (10-6) 7

Papillion-LaVista South (6-3) 9

North Platte (7-7) 10

In contention: Omaha Burke, Omaha North, Millard South.

Notes: Omaha Marian rises from #8 to #4 on the strength of winning the Lincoln Public Schools Invite while Lincoln Southwest falls from #2 to #5 after going 4-2 on the weekend and finishing second. Everything else remains stable. Ranking the Class A teams will only get harder as the season goes along. North Star is #2 despite having two losses to Southwest, but Southwest has two losses to Marian. Millard North has two losses to North Star but owns a win over Marian.

Class B

Team W-L Last Week

Grand Island Northwest (12-0) 1

Aurora (11-2) 3

Lincoln Pius X (13-2) 4

Omaha Skutt (10-4) 2

Waverly (9-3) 6

Norris (8-1) 5

Elkhorn (8-6) 7

Elkhorn South (10-6) 8

Gretna (11-2) 9

Hastings (6-0) –

In contention: Holdrege, Ralston, Beatrice, Gering, Seward.

Notes: Only minor changes in the rankings with Skutt falling behind Pius with the Thunderbolts owning a five-set win over the Skyhawks from last week. Waverly and Norris swap spots after the Vikings beat the Titans last week. The two teams have split the two matches they’ve played this year. Omaha Duchesne drops out while undefeated Hastings enters the top 10. Gretna’s record makes a higher ranking look justified, but while the Dragons have nice wins over mid-tier Class A & B schools, their two losses are two Waverly and Elkhorn South. Dragons have the opportunity to shoot higher this week, though, with a rematch against Elkhorn South and a match with Class A #7 Grand Island.

Notes: Concordia slips from #6 to #10 after a loss to Wahoo in the Seward Invitational. The victory allowed Wahoo to avenge its only loss on the season. As well as make its first entry into the top 10. Lincoln Lutheran gets back into the top 10 while St. Paul and Wayne each fall just outside the rankings.

Notes: Just two weeks removed from holding down the top spot, Lutheran High NE falls out of the rankings. After getting upset by Stanton the week before, Lutheran High NE took losses to Hartington CC and Ord last week. Meanwhile, Blue Hill falls from #2 to #6 after losses to Hastings SC and Superior – which enters the rankings at #5. Hastings SC gets to hold onto #1 despite its loss to C-1 #6 Lincoln Christian, but Freeman and Humphrey/Lindsay HF are looming below

Notes: Losses at the top of the rankings failed to shake things up in D-1. North Platte SP dropped a match to Class C-1 contender Gothenburg while Howells-Dodge fell to Class C-2 #8 Wakefield. Sutherland drops out of the ratings while Brady climbs in at #10.

Class D-2

Team W-L Last Week

Mead (9-0) 1

Ewing (9-1) 2

Giltner (8-0) 3

Bertrand (9-0) 4

Sterling (8-3) 6

Falls City SH (9-2) 5

Hyannis (9-2) 8

Leyton (9-1) 9

Wauneta-Palisade (7-2) 10

Exeter-Milligan (6-6) 7

In contention: Paxton, Osceola, Stuart, Silver Lake, Hay Springs.

Notes: Top of the standings remains the same as the elite teams in D-2 took care of businesses. Sterling’s win over Falls City Sacred Heart means the teams switch places in the rankings while Exeter-Milligan drops down from #7 to #10 after losses to BDS and Palmyra.

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Rankings as of Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Notes: Millard West takes over the top spot after a dominating performance at the Millard North Invitational. North Star rises all the way to #3 and has only lost to Millard West and Lincoln Southwest. Grand Island enters the rankings at #6 after a week in which the Islanders finished fourth at the Millard North Invite and previously defeated Lincoln Southeast. Lincoln Northeast and Millard South each drop out of the top 10.

Notes: Rankings remain almost exactly the same with the exception of Norris jumping from #8 to #5 after defeating Waverly this weekend. Waverly, Elkhorn and Elkhorn South all slide down a spot to make room for Norris.

Notes: Top of the rankings shuffle a bit with Omaha Concordia falling from #2 to #6 after a loss to top-ranked Scotus and losing to Ord in the Kearney Catholic Invite. Syracuse enters the ratings at #5 and owns wins over Class B Ralston and #7 Lincoln Christian. Wayne makes it debut in the rankings while Lincoln Lutheran, despite winning the Malcolm Invitational, falls from the rankings mostly due to Ogallala, St. Paul and Wayne having better quality wins. Losses to Seward and Beatrice drop Bishop Neumann from the rankings.

Notes: A pair of matches resulted in the ratings jumble this week. Lutheran High Northeast drops from #1 to #3 after being upset by Stanton. Stanton leaps over Guardian Angels CC thanks to that win combined with GACC’s loss to Humphrey-Lindsay Holy Family. Freeman, however, beat HLHF allowing it to move up from #5 to #4. Wakefield and Shelby-Rising City enter the top 10 while Hartington Cedar Catholic and Ord each fall out.

Notes: Sutherland drops all the way from #2 to #10 following a rough week. Sutherland lost five consecutive matches, although it was against Southwest, three Class C-1 schools and a Class B school, so they remain ranked. Ansley-Litchfield jumps into the rankings at #7 after defeating Twin Loup to avenge its only loss on the season. Johnson-Brock falls from the ratings after its loss to Class D-2 Falls City Sacred Heart.

Notes: Exeter-Milligan falls from #2 to #7 following losses last week to #3 Giltner, Class D-1 #5 Friend and Class C-2 #4 Freeman. Paxton falls from the ratings after losses to Brady and Wallace. Undefeated Wauneta-Palisade slips into the rankings at #10.

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Rankings as of Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. Updated rankings will be posted each Monday during the season.

Notes: Lincoln Southwest and Millard North both leap over Millard West in the rankings. Southwest earns the top spot based on the eye-test from this weekend and the fact Millard North dropped a match to Lincoln Northeast en route to the Bellevue Invitational championship. While undefeated and champions of the Heartland Crossroads Tournament in Fremont on Saturday, Millard West was pushed to three games by a pair of Class B schools, and thus drops a spot to make room for the Mustangs. Millard South enters the rankings at #9, replacing last week’s #10 Fremont. Papillion-LaVista South’s consolation championship in the Bellevue Invitational keeps it in the top 10.

Class B

Grand Island Northwest

Omaha Skutt

Aurora

Lincoln Pius X

Waverly

Elkhorn

Elkhorn South

Norris

Gretna

Omaha Duchesne

In contention: Holdrege, Blair, Ralston, Beatrice and Omaha Gross.

Notes: Defending Class B champion Grand Island Northwest wasted little time defending its turf by going undefeated and winning the Beatrice Invitational this weekend. Skutt climbs to No. 2 after a second-place finish at the Class A-heavy Bellevue Invitational. Elkhorn enters the rankings after a sixth-place finish at Beatrice and a season-opening win over Elkhorn South. Omaha Duchesne enters the top 10 while Omaha Gross and Seward drop out.

Notes: Depth and parity across Nebraska high school volleyball carries all the way down to Class C-1. By winning its own invite, Columbus Scotus holds the top spot, but takes on Omaha Concordia, winners of the Wahoo Invitational, in a key match-up Tuesday night. Bishop Neumann lost to Scotus 25-18, 17-25, 25-22 in the final of the Scotus invite demonstrating the balance throughout C-1.

Notes: The top two teams may have each lost a match last week to Class C-1 schools, but LHNE (Wisner-Pilger) and Hastings St. Cecilia (Lincoln Christian) are still the teams to beat in C-2. No. 3 Humphrey-Lindsay HF has yet to play this season, but gets underway by hosting #6 GACC on Tuesday.

Notes: North Platte SP is at the top of the standings and should stay there for a while. Friend makes a huge leap into the top 10 with big wins over Freeman and Sterling.

Class D-2

Mead

Exeter-Milligan

Ewing

Giltner

Bertrand

Falls City SH

Sterling

Hyannis

Paxton

Leyton

In contention: Sumner-Eddyville-Miller, Wauneta-Palisade, and Pleasanton.

Notes: Mead takes over the top spot thanks to losses by both Exeter-Milligan and Ewing, which are not dropped far because they each lost to a ranked Class D-1 school. Strong showings in weekend tournaments bring rankings debuts for Falls City SH and Sterling.